DERMOT McLAUGHLIN,
Madam, - In his recent letter, Mr John Deaton November 18th) says that to survive and develop the traditional arts need recognition and support. In this matter at least the Arts Council is fully in agreement with him: the current Arts Plan, incorporated in the Programme for Government, commits the Council to "conserve, renew and enrich the traditional arts".
The Council's strategy for the traditional arts, developed following wide-ranging consultation with individuals and organisations in the traditional music community, goes on to say that "in a public policy environment where a variety of supports are provided elsewhere, the Arts Council's response to the traditional arts is directed towards supporting the maintenance and enrichment of repertoire, promoting high standards of performance, and increasingly towards enhancing the quality of audience engagement." (Copies of the Plan, in Irish or in English, may be had from the Council, or may be read on www.artscouncil.ie). Our plan speaks directly to artists, it aims to provide more realistic support for them in pursuing careers in tradi tional music and dance.
The welcome debate about the provisions of the Bill, in these pages and elsewhere, has lost sight of the fact that the Arts Council is not the sole provider of public supports for the Irish traditional arts. The Arts Council is accused of neglecting traditional arts because it does not provide funding to Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Éireann (CCE). Let us be clear on this point. In 1999 and 2000, the then Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, confirmed to the Arts Council that it provided a block grant towards all of CCÉ's operations and said that for the Council to fund them also would represent double-funding.
This year Government funding to CCÉ amounts to €500,000. The comparable figure in 2000 was €431,000 and in 2001, €685,000 (including special funding of €203,000 that year). As CCÉ's architect, Mr Deaton will be aware also of capital funding which has been provided by Government over the years towards the development of Comhaltas's fine centre in Cashel, most recently €650,000 towards improvements to the building.
As a voluntary organisation, CCÉ benefits from Fás Community Employment schemes in all parts of the country, and both CCÉ and Brú Ború are funded directly by musicians who are members of Irish Music Right Organisation (IMRO). Under a five-year agreement made in 1998, CCÉ receives €317,000 from members' private income royalties and Brú Ború receives €158,000.
Given this context, the Arts Council's provision for awards to traditional artists for training and master classes, for resource organisations like na Píobairí Uilleann, for archives, a network of summer schools, support for recordings and publications, for collaborative work with Údaras na Gaeltachta, and for concert promotion - may seem more reasonable. - Yours, etc.,
DERMOT McLAUGHLIN, Artform Director, The Arts Council, 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.